Pawleys Island

We had a wonderful week with the Baden Family at Pawleys Island! We always have fun, but this year was extra special because it was Lydia's first time at the beach, and Uncle Michael was able to come all the way from Colorado! We haven't seen him in a long time and were so happy to have the whole family together!

The other great thing about the trip was that Jacob finally LOVED playing in the ocean. The past two summers he has been really scared of it, but not this year! The very first night he ran straight into the surf, after kicking and throwing some sand, of course! Lydia wasn't super into the ocean, but she loved being on the beach and in the pool. She also enjoyed eating multiple fists of sand.

Jacob loved going out into the deep part of the ocean with Daddy! He had a blast jumping waves!

We celebrated Grandma's 65th birthday, as well as all the summer birthdays, including Monkey's!

It was super hot during our beach week, so most evenings we went out to play after dinner. It was so nice then!

Aunt Lori won Jacob over with her yummy smoothies!

We can always count on Grandaddy to play in the sand!

Jacob and Lydia had so much fun playing with their uncles, and I think their uncles might have had a little fun, too!

This boy was WORN-OUT by bedtime! Grandma & Granddaddy graciously let our family have the master bedroom, which meant Jacob got to have his own "room" in the big closet! It worked out really well for buffering against Lydia's night and early morning wakings, as well as separation during nap time. Sleeping worked out much better for us than we anticipated! 

We decided to change up our family pictures this year by taking them at the marsh rather than on the beach. They turned out really well!

Jacob semi-cooperated, which is pretty good for him when it comes to taking pictures. This one cracks me up!

I love this sweet picture of Lydia and Grandma!

We managed a few good shots in the condo beforehand, too!

It was hard to pull Jacob away from the beach on our last night. Lydia wouldn't quit eating sand, so her time was abbreviated!

On Friday morning we packed up and headed to Charlotte for Hannah and Alec's wedding! 

Uncle Craig's watch broke, so he gave it to Jacob. He LOVES it. He kept telling us to ask him "what time it is." (And in case you're wondering, it's 40:40 o'clock!) It definitely kept him entertained on a very long drive to Charlotte, which consisted of seemingly never ending back-roads!

After checking into our hotel, we headed to the rehearsal dinner/square dance. Jacob considered dancing, but couldn't quite work up the courage.

I love this picture of Lydia and Grandaddy!

On Saturday we met up with Uncle Thomas, Aunt Ryan, and Baby Wade for lunch. It's so fun to see the little cousins together, and of course I loved holding my little nephew! 

The wedding was beautiful! Jacob made it about five minutes into the ceremony before Scott had to take him out, and I kind of went back and forth with Lydia. We sat in the very back to minimize our disruptions. We almost left afterwards because both kids were exhausted, and Jacob was losing it. But we found some food for him, and he managed to pull it together for the reception. We had a great time dancing!

The next morning we went to brunch at the Atwood's house before heading home.

We couldn't have asked for a better week! The beach, yummy food, and wedding fun were all great, but the best part was just being together! We are so grateful for our wonderful family!